White Balloons
by zzzeus11
Summary: Kristoff and Anna meet under unusual circumstances. Anna has a traumatic past and can't speak, Kristoff feels like his dog is his only friend. They both have a desire for more contact with each other, but there are some hurdles to over come. As they learn more about each other, will fate push them together or pull them apart?
1. Chapter 1

Alone, she sat there on the bench in the park, just as she had been for quite some time now. The days were growing shorter and colder. This is where she came to escape her own hell, where she felt safe. Anna felt like there were no worries in the world when she came here, away from the sights and sounds of the world. Here the only sounds she could hear were the rustling of leaves, the birds, and the giggles of the small children that play at the playground off in the distance.

Anna knew where she had come from, but she never knew where she was going from one moment to the next. She would try to find food wherever she could all the while staying out of the elements. The park bench offered her one constant in her life of variables. She saw different people every day, save for just one person, and today he wasn't there in his usual spot with his dog. Anna is a girl of very few words thees days, she never speaks to anyone other than herself. She never said 'hello' to the man, never petted his dog.

'It's so peaceful out here.' thought Anna. She closed her eyes and took in the cold winter air, the sounds, the smell of the tree sap dripping next to the bench where she was sitting. 'I wonder where that man and his dog went.?'

A sound stood out from the rest, to her it sounded like heavy breathing and it was getting closer. Anna opened her eyes and saw a medium sized yellow lab sitting right in front of her, panting with a green tennis ball laying on the ground in front of her feet. She noticed the dog's name 'Sven' on his collar. The dog stood in anticipation wagging his tail. She picked up the ball and threw it as hard as she could before sitting back down on the bench.

Anna heard some one calling the dog's name, and by instinct she looked around for whoever was calling for him. Inadvertently her eyes met his, she immediately looked down at the ground and sunk into the bench, a feeble attempt to make herself look smaller and less noticeable, but it was too late. Sven's owner was walking up to her, and surely he would ask her where his dog was.

Anna did not like it when people tried to talk to her. She was the girl who didn't belong anywhere and couldn't talk, the one who wore the same clothes every day. She hated it. Stuck in this never ending circle, Anna didn't want this life, but she also doesn't have the will power to change.

The man approached her, she had been expecting a barrage of words and questions, but instead her ears were met with silence, and after a few seconds she looked up to see if he was still there, their eyes meeting for a fleeting second before looking back down. Anna could almost see the question on his lips. She answers his unspoken question by pointing in the direction that his dog had run off, or rather the direction she had sent the ball. And with that he was gone. She let out a sigh of relief.

Anna smiled to herself for a second, something that was rare thees days. It wasn't long before she could hear a loud panting sound again. She opened her eyes, and there was the dog once again at her feet, staring up at her. This time however, he was on a leash. Anna followed the thin strip of leather upwards with her eyes. The man gave her a polite smile.

"Come on Sven, lets leave this nice lady alone, besides I am sure she thinks you smell like a sweaty dog." said Kristoff to Sven. He gently tugged on the leash and tried to get the dog to move, but instead he sat firmly in front of the girl.

Anna opened her mouth like she was going to say something, closing it immediately after. The man looked at her, noticing she was shivering slightly in the cold air. He took off his jacket and gave it to her. The sudden movement forced her eyes to meet his.

"I would give you the dog too seeing as he really seems to like you, but he is kind of a pain in the ass to deal with sometimes and I don't think you would like that." said Kristoff with a small smile. Inside though he was cringing at his poor attempt to make small talk, sometimes he even wondered why he would try. However much to his surprise, his remark earned him a smile from the girl, along with a very light giggle, barely audible.

Her smile faded. Anna knew that it was inevitable he would try to talk to her at some point, but at least he wasn't asking her questions that she couldn't answer. Kristoff could sense something was amiss with the young girl and felt uncomfortable.

"Come on, Sven!" said Kristoff in a more firm tone of voice and tugging the leash with a slightly greater force than before. The dog gave a faint wine as he reluctantly got up and followed his owner away.

* * *

><p>Kristoff felt like he had done his good deed for the day, by giving the young woman his jacket and making her smile. He was sure that his actions would stave off any bad karma that might be headed his way.<p>

"Damn. It's getting really cold out here." said Kristoff to his dog as a shiver went up his spine. Sven didn't really seem fazed by the temperature, but perhaps that is because he is covered in fur. Kristoff quickened his pace as they walked back to the apartment.

'Well, she was a quiet one for sure.' Thinking as he walked.

'The clothes she was wearing were looking a little ragged.'

'She looked rather young too.'

* * *

><p>When he got home that evening, he was so tied up in his own thoughts, he had left the sliding glass door ajar, not much but enough for the dog to get his snout in the opening to slide it open further.<p>

Kristoff was awakened by the door bell. "Who the hell is ringing _my_ door bell?" he mumbled as he quickly put some clothes on. He looked out the peep hole and was taken aback by what he saw. Out side the door was a short redheaded girl and what looked to be his dog.

Kristoff quickly scanned the apartment and concluded that Sven was not in present company. The door bell rang once again, bringing his attention back to the task at hand. Slowly he opened the door, Kristoff scanned Anna from toe to head stopping at her eyes. They were watery and blood shot, but not from crying, together with the redness of her face, he reasoned that it was from the cold wind blowing on it.

"Hey, you found my dog! I didn't even realize he was missing until just a few minutes ago." said Kristoff. Anna looked down to the floor and held out the end of the dog's leash toward Kristoff, which he slowly took from her hand. Soon as he did that, Sven scrambled behind Anna's legs. He cocked his head to the side.

"Looks like the dog knows something that I don't" said the man. The dog nudged Anna forward in to the apartment. "I am really sorry about that he is usua-" Kristoff was unable to Finnish his sentence because Anna had taken off back down the hall.

"Okay." said the blond man as he nodded while staring at the door. He looked down at the dog.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" he said as he knelt down to take the leash off the dog, soon as he was free, Sven bolted out the door after the girl. "Sven! Dammit!" he yelled.

Kristoff stood and tossed the leash down on the floor, 'Whatever. I am going to eat something. I guess he will come back when he wants too.' he thought as he reasoned with himself.

* * *

><p>He had been just about done cooking breakfast, when he heard a bark from the other side of the front door. "And <em>there<em> he is, damn dog." muttering to himself. Kristoff turned the stove off and walked to open the door for his dog, he hadn't been expecting to find the dog growling at the short redheaded girl that had brought him by the first time.

It was almost as if Sven was holding her hostage. He had her pinned against the wall with fear. "SVEN!" yelled Kristoff at his dog as he grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into the apartment. "Leaver her alone! What is your problem?"

Kristoff looked at the girl, who was visibly shaken and upset by the dog's behavior. "I am so so sorry, I don't know what has gotten in to him, here, please come in you look like you could use some help." said the man as he motioned for her to come inside.

Surprisingly she complied, either because of fear or simply because she wanted to, but either way here she was, standing in the home of a stranger. Anna looked around and marveled at all of the stuff the man had in his home. In the grand scheme of things it was nothing more than an old two bedroom apartment but to Anna, it may as well have been a mansion.

"I am going to take Sven out for a walk, um, please make your self at home and help your self, there is food in the fridge and towels in the closet right above the washing machine and dryer. Ill leave you too it." said Kristoff with a genuine smile on his face. He knelt down and put the leash back on the dog and quickly went out the door, leaving Anna all alone in the apartment.

* * *

><p>She stood there for a moment while she regained her composure. Slowly she turned around and took in all that the small dwelling had to offer, it had been so long since she had a nice meal or even a shower, in fact she couldn't remember the last time she had. Anna fully intended on taking the blond man up on his hospitable offer. Her first stop was the closet, where the towels and washing machine were. Anna took off her clothes and put them into the wash before grabbing a towel and headed to the bathroom.<p>

She stood there naked, in front of the mirror, looking at all of her scars. They were faint now but the pain was fresh as ever. Anna shook the thoughts from her mind and climbed into the shower. She let the warm water run down her skin as she stood there beside herself, she looked all over her body and felt some tears sneaking up behind her eyes. She was embarrassed at how far she let her self go, she looked like a cave woman. Of course being a man's house there were no tools to remedy that situation.

After her shower, she got out and dried herself with the nice soft towel before wrapping it around herself. Anna walked back over to the washer and dryer and switched her clothes. She then walked to the kitchen and saw where the man had been making, or at least attempting to make pancakes. Before too long she had finished what he had started and had herself a nice hot breakfast for the first time in forever.

As if like clockwork, right as she took her last bite of food, the buzzer for the drier went off. Anna got up and put her dishes in sink and walked over and put the towel she had been wearing around her, into the washer and started it before finally taking her own, now clean clothes, from the dryer and putting them on.

Right as she was about to open the door to walk out an idea came to her mind, she quickly searched for a pen and paper and sat down at the table and began writing the blond man a note. After she finished, Anna went around and turned off the lights and left the dwelling with a smile on her face.

* * *

><p>After a while, Kristoff finally came home. He had made sure he was gone for a good long time so as to avoid the young woman. When he opened the door to the apartment, Sven excitedly ran inside bouncing from room to room in search of the young red headed girl. A few minutes of frantic searching, Sven walked back to Kristoff with his head hung low and tail flaccid. The dog had obviously been expecting to find Anna still there when they returned home.<p>

"It looks like she was never here. And look she was able to salvage my pancakes!" said Kristoff. A foreign emotion was building within him.

The expression on his face turned from that of relief to one of curiosity when he saw something out of place on the table. Kristoff walked over to it and picked it up,

_Sir,_

_Thank you for letting me get cleaned up, and get something to eat. I made sure to put everything back in its place. And thank you for the jacket you gave me the other day. And Sven is a good dog, please don't get too mad at him, I forgive him. _

_And I know you never asked but, my name is Anna._

"My name is Kristoff." he said softly to himself as he sunk into the chair. He sighed and a small smile came to his face. "Why not?" he said. Kristoff then proceeded to take out a pen and paper and formulate a reply.

* * *

><p>The next day Kristoff walked to the park with Sven, he had the letter he had written yesterday in his pocket. He had even come up with a really creative way to deliver it to her.<p>

"Here Sven, go and find Anna." he said to the dog as he tucked the letter into his collar. Sven took off galloping away leaving a grinning Kristoff behind. He was thoroughly impressed with him self for coming up with a creative, maybe even romantic way to get the message to her.

A few minutes later, Sven returned, the letter still tucked securely in his collar. Kristoff smiled hopelessly at his own stupidity. "I don't why or how I even remotely thought I would ever see her again."

Kristoff looked at his dog, "Sven, you know why I like you? Because I understand you, well for the most part. People on the other hand, I don't really understand." said the man as he and his dog made their way back to the apartment.

* * *

><p>Anna had made a valiant attempt to not be late to the park, she hadn't realized how much that little bit of a connection she had made with the man had meant to her. Anna arrived a matter of seconds after Kristoff and Sven had turned to walk away. Upon seeing this, she felt her heart sink a little. Anna felt like she wanted something from him, like she wanted to even talk to him. As the thought crossed her mind, she immediately put her head down and shook it slightly, never in a million years would she ever talk to anyone ever again, or at least so she thought.<p>

She felt a cold breeze rush across the exposed skin of her face and lifted the collar of the jacket, _his _jacket, and pushed her face into it, partly because she wanted to protect her face from the cold and partly because she wanted to inhale his scent once again. Whenever she did that, it made her life seem just a little better if even for just a second at a time.


	2. Chapter 2

"Why are you moping around like that, Sven?" asked Kristoff.

The dog had been walking slowly and pawing at the door all day. He knew what the dog actually wanted, but in all honesty he didn't expect to see _her_ anymore. Kristoff was unsure as to why his dog had taken to her so quickly. The dog looked at him with puppy eyes and wined a little and Kristoff was unable to resist.

"Alright buddy, let's go and look again, but don't get your hopes up." said the man to his dog.

Kristoff retrieved the leash from the coat hanger and a jacket for himself. He remembered the letter that he had written a few days earlier and smiled at the thought. He decided that it would have been weird and way to forward of a gesture, so he tore it up and tossed it.

"Come on, lets go." he said.

Out the door they went.

* * *

><p>As they neared the park, Kristoff noticed Sven's tail wagging even harder now and he was pulling on his leash, almost choking himself in the process. Kristoff gave the leash a gentle tug in an effort to remind the dog not to pull.<p>

"Hey! Stop pulling." he told Sven.

As they neared the bench where Anna usually sat, Kristoff was once again met with a sight that was now becoming the norm, and empty seat. He sighed and shrugged.

"Whatever." looking down at Sven "She ain't here, just like she hasn't been here for the past few days. Come on let's go."

He didn't really have any good reason to be disappointed, after all he didn't even know the girl aside from her name being 'Anna'. But alas he was.

* * *

><p>She sat there with her back against the wall, face buried in her hand, head heavy with exhaustion. How she hated to be stuck in this cycle with typically far more downs than ups. Part of her was scared of returning to this place, especially because she didn't know how he would react. Would he be angry or would he be happy?<p>

Anna was pulled from her thought by the sound fast paced and heavy foot steeps followed by a wet sensation on her arm and some heavy breathing.

"Slow down, damn dog." grumbled Kristoff from down the hall, just beyond her sight line. She figured the dog must have smelled her and ran up the steps. Once he saw her, Kristoff stopped dead in his tracks, cocked his head to the side, concern and confusion flashed onto his face.

"Hey, um, I didn't expect to see you here." said the man. 'Or ever again for that matter' he added in his thoughts.

He could see the redness in her eyes and the dark circles that surrounded them. Faint bruises present on the exposed portions of her skin. Disturbed by what he saw, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Was it even his place to say anything?

"Would you like to come inside?" he asked while still scanning her and the condition she was in.

Slowly she lifted herself from the ground. He unlocked the door and she followed him inside. The dog was so happy that his tail was swatting objects off of the coffee table. They sat down at the dining room table across from each other.

'What's wrong with honesty?' he thought.

"Anna." he noted the smile that flashed across her face when he said her name "You look like you could use a friend." Kristoff spoke in a soft voice, with overwhelming sincerity.

His words were all she needed to hear before the tears started to form in her eyes.

"You can get cleaned up again, and we can talk when you get done if you want. And in the mean time I will make some food." stated Kristoff.

He sensed a little hesitation on her part, but she did as he suggested. "I have an old sweatsuit that you can wear while you wash your clothes, if you want to that is." he added as she was walking past him. Anna turned and nodded to him with a slight smile one her face, Kristoff went to retrieve them for her.

While Anna was in the shower, Kristoff was in the kitchen making simple sandwiches for the both of them when he heard the buzzer for the washer go off. So he walked over and was going to switch them to the drier.

"My god, they are falling apart." said the man. The clothes had multiple large patches of frayed fabric.

An Idea popped into his head, 'They can only get worse from here, then she will _have _to have new ones.' At that Kristoff tossed the clothes into the drier and started it, then he returned to the kitchen to finish the sandwiches.

A few minutes later and he heard the bathroom door open and close. He turned to see the young woman standing at the entrance to the kitchen wearing nothing but a towel around her, keeping his eye on her face, he put the plates down on the table and motioned for her to take a seat.

"I put your clothes into the dryer for you, but I must warn you, they are getting really frayed and the hole are getting pretty big." he said to Anna, this was not news to her apparently, judging from the unfazed expression on her face.

Sven stood on his hind legs and peaked his head over the edge of the table while they were eating, making Anna smile and giggle slightly. Kristoff slid his plate with the crust of the bread from his sandwich over to the dog for him to eat. "Now that's all you get. I filled your bowel with food, so go eat it." he said to his dog.

He then looked at Anna, " I forgot to tell you, but my name is Kristoff by the way, pleased to meet you."

Anna smiled at him in response.

"How old are you, Anna? If I may ask."

Anna thought for a moment, should she lie or should she tell him the truth? After all he had done for her, he deserves the truth right? But wouldn't that put her at risk? What if he called people to come and take her away?

She held up ten fingers, followed by another seven. "Seventeen" confirmed the man, to which Anna nodded.

"And how long have you been out on your own?" asked Kristoff. Anna held up two fingers.

"Two years" he said as he leaned back in his chair "I had a sis-" the buzzing of the dryer cut him off, which might have been a good thing because he wasn't entirely sure that he was ready to spill his past to a stranger, at least not just yet.

Anna got up and walked over the dryer to get her clothes out. Kristoff heard a gasp come from the hallway where Anna stood. She returned holding what was basically a ball of yarn.

"I hate to say it but, I did kinda tell you that they were getting pretty frayed." said Kristoff as a small smile crept onto his face. Anna put her head down and Kristoff could practically see the sadness on her face.

"Hey, it's alright. Go and put on the sweats and we will find you some new clothes that fit better, my treat of course." he said with a smile.

* * *

><p>A little while later and they were strolling through the local shopping center, trying to find Anna a couple of outfits and really just enjoying each others rather quiet company. She must have tried on at least a dozen before finally settling on a pair of jeans and a simple long sleeve shirt, and a black dress, along with some socks and underwear.<p>

"Is there anything else you need or want?" asked Kristoff.

Anna stopped for a second and thought before walking in a different direction. Anna had disappeared down one of the aisles and returned shortly thereafter with a few assorted toiletries in hand. After placing them in the cart, they continued walking, this time in the general direction of the checkout lanes.

"There you are, Anna." said a voice from behind them.

Kristoff noticed the young girls face turn white like a sheet of paper, and slowly she turned around to face the origin of the voice. Kristoff followed suit. He was a little taken aback by what he saw. The other man was a little shorter then himself, maybe six inches, he had the same red hair as Anna did.

After seeing the expression her the young girl's face, Kristoff began to react a little impulsively, though he made his best effort to control him self, not wanting to cause a scene here in the store.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Kristoff, causing the man to look at him in surprise; as if he hadn't noticed his presence earlier.

"Who the _hell_ are you?" asked the other man, a little louder than Kristoff had.

Kristoff stepped forward and slightly in front of Anna, "I am not going to play that game with you, now once again, who are you?"

The other man finally relented, "Hans, and this here is my little sister, Anna." he said as he motioned toward Anna.

Kristoff looked back at the girl, the unspoken question painted on his face. The girl nodded slowly in response. He could see the fear prominently displayed on her face.

He turned back to Hans, "Well...Hans, it's been a pleasure meeting you."

"Yes and thank you for finding my sister, I have been looking for her a while now." said the man as he reached for Anna's hand, in an attempt to lead her away, but Anna forcefully withdrew it from his grasp. When he tried to reach for her arm again, he found his neck engulfed by the larger man's hand.

"I think that means she doesn't want to come with you, but if you beg to differ than I would be more than happy to clarify it for you, outside." said Kristoff.

The lack of blood flow had begun to make Hans's knees buckle, and in a cleaver attempt to hid the assault, Kristoff acted like he was helping the man to his feet. "Whoa there sir, your looking a little blue, you should go and see a doctor about that." said Kristoff loud enough that any passersby would hear him.

* * *

><p>Later that evening when Kristoff had asked her for an explanation, Anna had reluctantly showed him the bruises, or at least the ones that she felt comfortable with him seeing. They were faint now, but they had been much darker and plentiful.<p>

Kristoff nodded in understanding, and although he knew Anna could see the anger painted on his face, he was going to keep him temper in check. He was determined.

"You can stay here" he said to the red headed girl that sat across the table from him. Kristoff felt a blush creeping up into his cheeks as he said that, so he immediately followed it with, "ya know, until you decide what you want to do or where you want to go, I mean since obviously you can't go back there with _him_."

He looked down at his food and took another bite. "You can take Elsa's room.." he said rather softly.

Maybe she wasn't the only one with bruises, 'there must be more to his story as well'. she thought.

"Anyway, yeah you can sleep in there." he said as he pointed to the door furthest down the short hallway.

* * *

><p>When she entered the room she could see the light blue paint on the wall, boxes stacked higher than herself were along parts of the wall. On the vanity there way a picture of a beautiful woman with fantastic blue eyes and long and very light blond hair, almost white. As beautiful as the girl may have been, the smile on her face was painfully fake. Anna continued to look around the room.<p>

After taking it all in, she took off the sweats that Kristoff had loaned her and got into bed. It had been a while since she had slept in an actual bed, one that was not made of cardboard, newspaper and what ever else she could scavenge that was soft. Slowly she drifted off to sleep and her dreams consumed her, tonight they were guided by the man in the other room, and how he had stood up for her today. It made her feel like she had a friend that actually cared about her, even loved.

The dream consisted of that scene being played over and over again, always ending up with Kristoff beating her brother and hurting him in a variety of humiliating and painful ways. Anna's young mind had made him out to be a hero, _her_ hero.

* * *

><p>Anna's eyes flashed open when she heard the sound of Sven whining with his nose under the door to the room she was sleeping in. Slowly she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Once she remembered where she was, a smile graced her face for a long while.<p>

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and down onto the floor, then she began to put the new jeans on, along with her new shirt.

When she opened the door, Sven stood up and looked at her while he wagged his tail wildly. Anna figured that Kristoff must not have gotten up and fed the dog yet. She made her way to the kitchen and put some food in the dog's bowl along with refilling his water. Then she felt her own stomach growling and decided to make some eggs and toast. Anna thought while she cooked, 'How can I ever repay him for his generosity.?' She looked down at the food she was making, 'Well it's a start..'

Anna put a few eggs on a plate, along with some toast and a glass of chocolate milk. In truth, she didn't even know if he liked any of this or if he would even take very kindly to being woken up like this, but at this point, things could only really get better for her. Anna made her way to his room, she shifted the tray so that she was able to balance it on one hand while she knocked on the door with the other. There was no answer, she she knocked again. Once again, nothing.

Concerned, she opted to open the door a crack and peak in, the bed was empty and still made. Thinking that he had already left for the day she opened the door all the way and saw him sitting at the desk in the far corner of the room. His head was down, 'he must have fallen asleep while reading or something.' she figured.

Anna walked a little closer and saw a large empty liquor bottle sitting next to his head, which lie in a pool of dried brown blood that appeared to have come from his nose. Quickly she sat the tray down on the dresser and rushed to the his side. Breathing heavily, the sight was provoking the current panic within her.

"Kristoff!" she squeaked softly. Placing a hand on his shoulder and grabbing a fist full of blond hair with the other, she lifted him back into his seat. When the pain from having his hair pulled wasn't enough to rouse the man back into consciousness, she grew even more concerned.

Once he was secure in his chair, Anna noticed what he had been laying on, it looked to be a family photo album, one individual stood out to her, the beautiful blond girl from the picture in the room she had been sleeping in.

'She must be his sister or something.' she thought.

"Ow!" shouted the man, his hand flying up to his head, followed by a loud belch.

Anna grabbed his large arm and dragged him to the kitchen and forcefully sat him down in one of the chairs at the table while she fetched a wet washcloth. "I like your new clothes." said Kristoff.

She ignored him and walked up and began to wipe the dried blood from his face.

"What are you doing?!" he asked. Her response was to she him the red stains on the washcloth. "Oh.. what happened?"

Anna went back to his room and retrieved the picture book and liquor bottle from his desk and sat them down in front of him, she looked at him expectantly, as if she was now the one who was demanding an explanation.

Kristoff looked at the bottle and book and then back to her narrowed eyes, and sighed.


	3. Chapter 3

Anna began to wipe the dried blood from the protective plastic cover on the photo album while she listened to Kristoff's story.

"My sister" he gestured to the photo in the book "she has been gone for a few years now, I will never forget the day she just vanished, gone." said the man.

Anna looked up when she heard a couple of stray sniffles.

"She, is or was, the only family that I had left, and I don't even know if she is alive or dead, I haven't heard from her in years, since the day she left." Kristoff cleared his throat, "I just really don't feel like talking about it right now, sorry, and thank you for cleaning up my mess."

He looked at the clock. "Dammit! I am going to be late to work. Sorry but I have to run."

After getting dressed and stuffing some toast and eggs in his face he said, "Bye Anna, I will see you later this evening, I might be late so don't wait up for me."

Like a lightning bolt, he was out the door, leaving Anna all alone in the apartment, save for Sven of course. She stood there and thought for a moment, figuring that she should start the day by taking Sven for a morning walk, after which she would try to make the most of this second chance by looking for a job.

It was strange how just being around Kristoff made her feel a motivation that had not been present before. Somehow he made her feel good about herself, and the way he had opened up for her also made her feel trusted. If only she could do the same for him. Kristoff had not even asked her any question that required any sort of elaborate answers.

'I need to stop hiding behind my own silence.' she thought.

Anna grabbed the leash and attached it to Sven's collar then the pair proceeded out the door. She let out a little laugh when she saw how the dog was walking perfectly upright with his head held high. The dog was large and made her feel safe when she was out and about with him, and he would start to growl whenever someone got a little to close to her.

They stopped at the old bench where she would once sit for hours at a time, and today it just felt like an old park bench. Sven sat patiently next to her leg and waited, while Anna took in the sights, smells and sounds of her old spot. Sure, it had been quite recent that she was there everyday but, there is nothing like a good kick in the ass when being reminded of your past. At this point Anna began to consider her place in the park as bitter-sweet.

* * *

><p>Anna was so excited for Kristoff to finally get home, she had been working all day, organizing and cleaning the apartment, she even prepared some dinner for them. In her mind she would never quite be able to fully express her gratitude to him, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying. She also made up her mind about at least making an attempt at actual verbal communication, she owed him that much at least.<p>

Anna was curled up on the couch reading a book with Sven snuggled up tightly against her when she heard the key slide into the lock on the front door.

"Damn, that smells good. Hey buddy!" said Kristoff as he entered and the smell of dinner slammed into his nose, while Sven did the same to his leg.

When the dog was satisfied with the greeting and attention he got from Kristoff, he immediately got back into his position with Anna on the couch.

Anna waited on the sofa in the living room while Kristoff got settled after his extra long day at work. When he finally returned from his room, Anna cleared her throat and mustered up albeit in a very soft voice that sounded more ethereal than human, "Dinner is in the oven."

She could practically hear Kristoff's figurative tires coming to a screeching halt upon hearing her speak, however he did his best to play it cool, like it was perfectly normal for her to be speaking.

"Oh, um thank you, you really didn't have to go through the trouble of making me dinner." said the man.

Anna smiled and felt her new found confidence building, she liked that he didn't make a big deal of her speaking or that he made any snide comments about her silence. "Don't flatter your self now, I am also hungry."

Kristoff grinned, "Of course how presumptuous of me."

"Go sit down, I get it, besides I just cleaned and I don't want you to make a mess in there." she said as she got up and walked to the kitchen.

Even though she can contributed on her own accord, it made her feel needed, wanted even. Anna loved the feeling, it was new to her, something she hadn't felt before. Nothing could ruin the moment she was living in.

"Can you get me a beer with that, please?" asked Kristoff, while giving a polite chuckle to her remark about his cleanliness.

Anna paused, she did not and would not ever like being in the company of anyone who drank. Feeling the need to make her opinion known, she sighed deeply and shook her head at him, "After how I found you this morning, alcohol doesn't seem like something you need." she tried to say it as politely as she could.

The girl saw a familiar expression come across the blond man's face and could feel herself start to tremble with fear. His smile had vanished, only to be replaced with a vicious scowl. He got up off the couch and walked briskly over to the kitchen where she stood. As he got closer, Anna backed up against the wall.

"Please don't get mad." said the girl with tears in her voice.

The closer her got to her, the more of the all to familiar fear she felt, Anna cringed and braced her self for the impact of his hand against her body, but it never came.

The sight before him, the small red headed girl cowering in the corner of the kitchen, the fear painted on her face, was enough to cut through the red in his eyes. Kristoff felt an immense pang of guilt slap him right in the face. This was a wordless situation. Nothing he could ever say would make her forget what she saw. Maybe it's best to own up to it?

Before he could react, she ran past him and down the hall to the bedroom she was staying in and slammed the door. Shame was building within him and Kristoff felt tears burning the back of his eyes. He put his forehead against the cold steel of the refrigerator and rubbed his face with his hands.

"I am so sorry." said the man into his hands, choking on his words. The dam holding back his tears was on the verge of bursting.

Slowly in his mind and based on her reaction he was able to piece together some important facts about her. He did so unconsciously, it explained the bruises on her, it might even explain her apparent fear of her brother. Perhaps even cause and effect.

He had to do something. One thing Kristoff never realized, was just how alone he felt, and how much it meant to him actually having someone else in his life however brief. He didn't want to loose _this_. He couldn't loose _this_.

Determination and empathy running through his veins, Kristoff somehow found the courage to walk down the hall to her room. He raised his hand to knock on the door, he closed his eyes and let his knuckles crash against the wood. On the other side of the door he heard her quiet sobs cease and light foot steps moving towards him. A second later the door opened, and he was face to face with the short beautiful red head once again, only this time her eyes were wet with tears.

"Anna, I'm sorry. What you saw...that's not me. I..sometimes get a little tunnel vision. Will you forgive me?" Kristoff almost begged.

Anna could see the tears running silently down his face. Her face was a reflection of his in that way, silent tears. She raised her hand and pressed it against his chest, noting how firm it felt underneath her palm.

"Kristoff.." she said softly under her breath, but still loud enough for him to hear. "I know your not _him_."

Her touch felt like fire as it's warmth spread across his entire chest, a fire that he never wanted to extinguish. Words need not be exchanged, a mutual understanding was in order as their bodies began to wonder closer and closer, ending in an embrace, a fire not known to either of the two spread throughout both of their bodies.

His chin resting gently on the top of her head, arms around each other. "Water will do just fine." said the man. The reverberation of his voice carried into her head. His words elicited a light chuckle and sniffle from her. They parted and Anna, smiling bit her bottom lip while she looked up at him, she wasn't intentionally trying to look seductive, but all of this left Kristoff standing beside himself, just shaking his head inside.

"Ready to eat?" asked the young red head.

"Absolutely." replied Kristoff.

The two made their way back to the kitchen like nothing even happened. Once they got settled at the table Kristoff decided to make some light conversation.

"So...um do you have any plans?" asked the man.

Anna looked up from her food, her head cocked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, like are you going to get back to school or work?" asked Kristoff.

Right as Anna was about to answer, loud sounds of passion came from above. The two immediately turned beet red and broke eye contact. Kristoff was first to find words.

"Yeahhh, um that would be Rapunzel. She has quite a set of lungs on her." said the man with a disarming chuckle. "I think they just got back from out of town."

"So this is _normal_?" asked the young red head.

"Oh yeah, well I mean I don't know how _normal_ it is per se, but its normal for them I suppose." said Kristoff as he took another bite. "But if your going to be staying here, you will either have to get used to it or sleep with a pillow over your head." said Kristoff, his sentence ending precisely as another surge of pleasure erupted from the woman up stairs.

Anna burst out laughing. "At least some one is having a good time tonight." said the girl, with a hint of sarcasm.

"That might be true, but I find it rather annoying." said the man. 'Not to mention the fact that it reminds me of what I ain't got' he added in his thoughts.

After dinner, the two got up and reached for the plates that lay on the table simultaneously. Their hands collided with one another.

"I got this, you go and chill for a while." said Kristoff.

"Are you sure? I.." she was cut off by the man.

"Yeah, you have been cleaning up around here all day, let me at least put the dishes in the dishwasher." Kristoff cut in.

Anna removed her hand from the plate and looked at him, a gently smile on her face. Their eyes met for a short moment before the gaze broke. His cheeks flushed red, as did hers.

"Alright, thanks, but try not to make a mess in the kitchen." said the red headed girl as she walked away.

Now that he was safe from her gaze, he could drop his eyes down and ogle to his hearts content. Head cocked to the side, a smile on his face, he outwardly shook his head gently in amazement. This was not the same girl who he had met in he park not even that long ago. No, this girl walked with confidence and transformed into this beautiful young woman that bore little resemblance to the girl from before.

His smile grew into a grin as he stacked up the plates and carried them in to the kitchen and putting them into the dishwasher. Once it was loaded and started, Kristoff took a moment to look around the small kitchen, it had never been so clean before. In such a short amount to time, the woman had made his like infinitely better than it was. How would he ever be able to adequately express his gratitude for her?

He heard a door open followed by the sound of foot steps closing in on him. When Anna finally appeared from the hall, his mouth instantly ran dry, sweat began to bead up on his forehead.

"Ohhhh, no." said the man, mouth agape.

"What's wrong?" asked Anna.

Kristoff buried his face in his hands for a moment while he thought of words.

"You know what your wearing, right?" asked Kristoff.

Anna looked down at the, or at least what she thought was night wear. "Uh, it's a night gown." she said matter of factually.

"...Yeah, I suppose it is. But you do realize its sheer right? And not to mention how many escapades my sister had in that thing, honestly I am surprised it's still black" Kristoff was shaking his head.

"What do you mean? I think its nice and airy and light. Very comfortable in fact." stated the red head.

"Instead of me telling you, why don't you follow me the bathroom so I can show you what I mean." said Kristoff as he began making his way toward the restroom, chuckling lightly as he did so.

When they got there he pushed gently into position in front of the mirror before turning on the lights.

"Oh. my. God." said Anna while standing motionless for a second, her face turning bright red.

"Yep. I mean it looks great on you don't get me wrong, but its not quite what you had intended on wearing I don't think."

Anna hid her face behind her hands and mumbled "I am like ten different kinds of sorry right now." as she pushed past him and ran back to her room.

Another passionate moan came from above, and Kristoff's only response was to hold his hand up and give the happy couple the bird. Even though they couldn't see it, somehow it made him feel just a little better. He sighed deeply before walking back to his bedroom shaking his head in disbelief.

"impossible" mumbled the man under his breath.

* * *

><p>The smell of fresh pancakes and syrup passed through his nose making his stomach grumble. His eyes flashed open and he shot up out of bed.<p>

"Today is going to be a good day, I can feel it." he said to himself in the mirror.

**Thoughts and comments welcomed! **

**Ps. un editited sorry, i aint got time! i guess try to enjoy it (shrugs)**


	4. Chapter 4

Kristoff got dressed and walked out of his room towards the kitchen with a loud empty stomach. He paused for a moment to admire the woman behind the counter as she worked. It looked like she was an expert in her craft, cooking, baking, and cleaning. Maybe she was destined to be a homebody, or a caretaker, either way he was amazed at her speed and grace as she moved with surgical precision throughout the small kitchen.

After a moment, he walked into the open. "Good morning" said the man.

Anna looked up from what she was doing and sent him a warm smile. "Hey there, you like sleeping in or something?"

Kristoff looked at the clock on the wall. "Well it is my day off so... yeahhh."

"Breakfast is almost ready, go sit down." demeaned Anna.

"Oh alright." said Kristoff with a wide smile, his eyes lingered on the girl for a moment before turning around to walk over to the table.

A few minutes later Anna walked over with his plate and hers before returning to the kitchen for their drinks.

"Hey you know you don't have to cook every meal, right?" asked Kristoff, a hint of concern in his voice.

"I know that, but its really the least I could do with you letting me stay here and all. You don't know how much this means to me." said Anna while she looked him straight in the eye.

Kristoff could only smile. "So do you have any plans for today?" he asked with a coy tone of voice.

Anna looked up in thought, only to be distracted by what she saw on the ceiling. "What happened to the ceiling?" she said as she pointed.

Kristoff followed her finger, "Oh, well that is a story for a another day." he said with a lighthearted chuckle.

Anna shrugged and answered his question. "Um, no not really, I mean I was going to look in the classified for a job, but other than that, not really. Why?"

Kristoff looked down at his plate to take another bite before answering. "I was thinking, maybe if you wanted to hang out or something, I know some cool places to go."

"Why don't we just take Sven for a walk? If that's alright with you. I mean I don't really feel the need to go anywhere specific ya know?" said Anna.

Kristoff looked almost disappointed. He glanced at his dog, and nodded in agreement wit her. "Alright, that sounds good."

After breakfast, the two got dressed and ready to go out for a walk. Anna put the leash on the dog, and went out first, with Kristoff following behind her after locking the door. The pair headed off.

* * *

><p>At the park, the two had followed the trails for what felt like hours, just engaging in simple lighthearted conversation, neither of them talked about their pasts at all. They just really tried to enjoy spending time together.<p>

"So, do you think you will go back to school?" asked Kristoff.

Anna looked at him, her cheeks flushed a little red before looking away. "I think at some point, I will. But right now I just need to focus on getting back on my feet. The past few years have been really long..." said Anna in a soft and coy voice.

"Ok, yeah that makes sense." Kristoff nodded. "I think you should take your time. The world can wait. You have your whole life in front of you honestly."

Anna smiled at him. "What about you? What are your plans?"

"Me? I already finished school." said Kristoff.

"I know that, I saw your degree on the wall. What I am asking is like, are you going to stay in the apartment forever? What about family? You know what I mean, right?" asked explained Anna.

Kristoff's face fell at the mention of family, it had been years but time was not enough to make it hurt any less. No, those wounds would always feel fresh, for both of them.

Remembering his long lost sister, his only family, Anna immediately knew what she did. "I'm sorry, Kristoff. I didn't mean to upset you." pleaded the young red head.

Kristoff stopped walking and looked at her, soft smile on his face, her reprieve. "Right now, Anna, you and Sven are my family, and that's all I need right now."

Satisfied with his answer, she turned to the bench she used to sit on. "I used to watch you, you know?" said Anna.

"Huh?"

"You seem a lot happier now than you did back then, do you know why that is?" asked Anna.

Kristoff smiled at her seemingly trick question, his clever answer, "Probably the same reason you are too."

At that they both blushed, neither of them really needed to acknowledge that the other made them happy or at least feel better. Both members of the pair felt an emptiness on some level, but together, somehow they fulfilled each other with mere presence alone. It might be for the right reasons or it may be for the wrong reasons, because they are both at different points in their lives, here they were, at the crossroads, together.

Soon they found themselves in an isolated part of the park, walking so close they were almost touching. They could practically feel the magnetism in their hands. A small gesture, he wanted to, badly, but he was entirely unsure of anything at the moment. His saving grace had the answer for him, as if she sense what he was feeling.

"It's alright, here take my hand." said Anna softly, holding out her hand and a smile on her beautiful face.

Kristoff stumbled on his own breath while taking a deep one. He took her hand. Here they are, in a context unknown, hand in hand, the only thing they knew for sure was the feeling spreading from their fingertips, bliss, being lost in the moment, living in it.

After a few more steps, Sven began to growl, pulling the pair from their thoughts and silence.

Kristoff's eyes shot south toward his dog. "What is it buddy?" he looked around, seeing nothing.

Anna's head snapped around to look at Kristoff, fear and confusion painted on her face, she unconsciously squeezed his hand harder. "Kristoff, what's wrong with Sven? What's going on?" asked the young woman with grave concern.

He pulled her closer, "I am not sure, but Sven is sensing something is off. Let's get out of here." stated the blond man.

Out of the deafening silence, Kristoff heard a twig snap. Behind him a masked man had appeared, slowly making his way towards them. Kristoff curled Anna into his chest with one arm and holding and angry and charging Sven wit the other.

In an incredibly loud voice, "You come any closer and you going to have two hundred and ten pounds of problem, buddy. Not to mention one really pissed off dog up your ass." roared Kristoff.

If Anna had not been with him, in all honesty, Kristoff would have just proceeded to fight the man, back then, he had no issues fighting, in fact if anything, a little pain made him feel more alive, but not today. He didn't want to be that man anymore, and the reason was standing right in front of him.

His threat made the masked man stop in his tracks for a moment. But then he spoke up, "The girl." said the man in a muffled voice due to the mask. He pulled a switch blade out of his pocket and flung it open and using it to gesture for Kristoff to send her over.

Kristoff looked down to the red head girl the he had clutched to his chest, "Take Sven and run home and lock the door." said the man in a rather scary tone. Fear sparked within her from his words, and she did as she was told.

As soon as Anna took off running the masked man did too. Kristoff had all the justification he needed to beat the living hell of the other man. Kristoff took off after the man, Adrenalin making him run twice as fast as he normally could. He intercepted the masked mans path, blind siding him. In a wild maneuver the other man had swung around and slashed at Kristoff catching him in the shoulder and cutting him deep despite the layers of heavy fabric that covered him.

Kristoff couldn't feel the wound in the moment, to him all he felt was a snag on his skin and some lasting pressure. After taking a couple of hit from Kristoff, the other man had dropped the knife and lay on the ground helpless. With an eerie calmness, Kristoff walked over and grabbed the collar of the masked man and picked him up with one hand, slamming his back against a nearby tree and suspending him there.

"You are going to piss blood for a week after this." said Kristoff to the man. He stated delivered several of the hardest punches she could to the man's kidney.

After five or six of them, he dropped the man on the ground and kicked him in the chest before walking off, towards home, towards Anna. The thought made him walk a little faster.

* * *

><p>He came up to the door and paused for a moment to catch his breath and try to regain his composure after coming down from his adrenalin high.<p>

"Anna, it's me." he said as he knocked.

"Kristoff!" said the girl once she opened the door.

He found himself enveloped in a hug from the woman, despite the pain, he hugged her back.

Anna caught him wincing out the corner of her eye, immediately concerned she asked, "Hey are you alright?" as she pushed herself off of him, to look him over.

"Yeah, I am good. I need a band aid though. Eh, maybe a couple." said the man as humorously as he could.

"What happened?" asked the young woman as she helped him out of his jacket and shirts.

"long story short, I think, I got my point across, I hope." he said with a lighthearted chuckle.

Now that Anna had him down to his bare chest, she could see the full extent and depth of his wound. She let her eyes wonder for a split second, notating that while Kristoff wasn't exactly ripped like superman, his muscles were still very large and firm looking, he was strong like a working man. She shook the thoughts from hear head and once again focused on tending to him.

"Oh my god, Kristoff!" said Anna as she covered her mouth to keep from screaming.

"It's not as bad as it looks, Anna." said Kristoff in an attempt to calm the young woman.

Anna gave him a disbelieving look, "It must be an inch deep at least. You need stitches."

"aw hell no! You couldn't pay me enough to have them come anywhere near me with a needle." said the man as he got up to go to the bathroom, where he kept the medicine box and first aid kit.

"You sit your ass down." hissed Anna as she pulled him back into the chair at the kitchen table.

Her sudden act of violence, however insignificant, stunned Kristoff into silence for a moment. Her face was red with an emotion that he could only assume was anger, still he was confused about the tears he saw building in her eyes.

Anna did her best to hide it, but to him it was clear as day.

"You damn near had your arm cut off and your telling me that your worried about getting stitches?" asked Anna incredulously.

He looked at her with minor irritation, "I don't do needles. Period." said the man with a scoff.

"Your an idiot." she said with a wave of her finger in his face. "Where do you keep the medicine box and stuff?"

"Under the bathroom sink." stated Kristoff.

He watched the woman huff off and fetch it. The sway of her hips took his pain away for a second.

A moment later she had returned from the bathroom, box in hand. She quickly emptied the contents onto the kitchen table.

"Hey don't make a mess, I just needed a couple of band aids." said Kristoff, again with a hint of irritation in his voice. "Why are you crying? I am the one who is bleeding." said the man in a much softer voice.

"Just shut up. My god your stupid." said Anna.

She went to the kitchen and grabbed some paper towels and wet them in cold water, which she then pressed against his wound, holding it there until his teeth were chattering at a satisfactory frequency. Once the area was cleaned and dry, Anna used the included tape to close that gash as best she could before covering it with gauze and bandages.

"You need to keep that arm still for a day so the healing can begin. You also ruined your jacket and shirts." stated Anna.

"I kind of figured as much."

She got right up in his face this time, "When someone has a knife or a gun, you RUN, you don't stay and fight them like a dumb ass, dumb ass."

Kristoff cleared his throat, "Your kind of feisty there aren't ya" said the man with a smile.

Anna stood up and glared at him before going to the kitchen and bringing back a glass of water and some pills.

"Here take thees." offered Anna.

"Oh, gladly, thank you for your help." said Kristoff.

"So... if he was the one with the knife and your still alive, dare I ask what you did to him?" asked the red headed woman.

Images of the fight flashed in his mind, and a smile came to his face. "I just roughed him up a bit, that's all." said the man.

Again Anna gave him an incredulous look. "Whatever. Just go sit on the couch."

Kristoff complied with the younger woman request while she cleaned up the mess on the table. Half an hour later the pills had kicked in while the two of them sat there watching a television show. Anna felt the head of the shirtless blond man next to her sink onto her small shoulder as he faded off to sleep. Soon she too felt a yawn coming on, indicating that she herself wasn't far behind.

**so what do you all think so far? i would love to hear your thoughts please.**


	5. Chapter 5

Anna was so comfortable sitting there with Kristoff on the couch that she had decided not to go bed, instead she just continued to sit with him as he slept on her shoulder. After what happened today, Anna decided that Kristoff was one of those guys that needed supervision constantly. His behavior and recklessness scared her. Sure he may have justified it by saying that he was doing it do defend her, but it left her with a feeling of fear as much as it did flattering.

* * *

><p>The next morning she felt a cold wet sensation running down her chest and over one of her breast. It made her eyes flash open. Slowly she gained her bearings and remembered that she had fallen asleep with Kristoff on the couch.<p>

Anna looked her at him, head still on her shoulder. Perhaps she gave him too much medicine, she thought. Then she looked down and saw where he was drooling all over her. Repulsed, she began to stir and climb out from under him, letting his body flop down onto the soft couch, still not enough to wake the man.

"Eww, Kristoff your drooling and it got all over me!" Anna said loudly.

Still the man was not waking up. Anna scoffed and went into the kitchen, for the one thing she knew would wake him up, Food. She put food into the dog's bowl before she started on their breakfast.

"Good morning, Sven." she said with a smile as she bent to to put food in his bowl for him.

Anna began getting the ingredients out for some french toast. After the first couple of pieces were frying the aroma began to fill the air. She chuckled when she head the man start to stir from his sleep.

"Good morning." said the red head with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh, my god. That smells so good!" said the man as he tried to get up, "Why is my whole body sore?"

"Well, you did get into a fight yesterday, I'd imagine that's probably why." Anna retorted.

Once she got done putting the food on the plates and putting them on the table, Anna walked over to the couch and helped Kristoff into a standing position so that he could walk over and sit and the table. Kristoff could see the giant wet mark on her shirt and felt the need to comment.

"Oh my god, don't tell me I did that." he said as he pointed to her shirt.

Anna looked down at the wetness on her shirt, which she had actually forgot about by this point, and nodded.

"Yep, that was you. Fell asleep on my shoulder and drooled all over it. It was rather unpleasant waking up to." said Anna.

"I am super sorry about that. You should have just pushed me off, ya know?"

"Don't worry about it, besides I fell asleep too. But if you really want to make it up to me, you can tell me the story about the hole in the ceiling over there." said Anna.

Kristoff was silent on his way over to the table, not saying a word until he got some food in his mouth.

"Well, you know how the upstairs neighbors are always going at it?" asked Kristoff.

Anna nodded as she took a bit of her food.

"Alright well, one day Elsa got really irritated and for some strange reason, she actually took the time to use the sound from their antics to locate the bed, then she took the broom handle and started to hammer it through the drywall so that she could bang directly on their floor." Kristoff had started to laugh.

"Did she get their attention?" asked Anna.

"Oh hell yeah she did! I still remember it like it was yesterday. They stopped immediately and we didn't hear anything out of them for like a week. But that was several years ago now, and they have since returned to their former glory if ya know what I mean." stated Kristoff.

Anna gave a long laugh before letting it fade, as another question came into her mind.

"So what ever happened to your sister?" asked Anna innocently.

The man's face fell like a brick at her words. Still he didn't want to be rude to her, so he gave her the best answer he could at the moment.

"I thought I told you, she is gone. Like period. I don't know if she is alive or dead or where she is or anything." said the man in an unintentionally defensive tone. "What about your brother? What the deal with him?"

Anna completely broke any and all eye contact with the blond man across from her at his mention of her brother.

"That is something completely and totally different, and for right now Kristoff, that topic is off limits. I am sorry I asked about your sister, alright?" retorted Anna.

Kristoff could see the tears building in the girl's eyes and instantly knew there was some really painful memory there, ones that he dare not touch.

"Excuse me." said Anna as she got up and began to walk to her room. But before she could enter, the man was already up from the table and right behind her.

"Anna, hey, I am sorry. I-" he began, only to be cut off by the younger woman.

She put hand up in a stopping motion. "I think we are both sorry, alright? Maybe one day we can share our sad stories with each other, but I do not want to even think about _him_ right now, and not ever honestly." said the woman as she opened her door. "Please clear the table."

Kristoff did as he was asked and made a mental note not to ever ask Anna about her brother ever again.

* * *

><p>Later that day, while Kristoff was at work, Anna had decided to also find a job for herself. Make no mistake, she absolutely loved living with Kristoff, she just really needed something else to focus on as well. Anna felt like she needed to figure out where she wanted to go in her life. She was still young in parts of her mind, and more mature with other things. Anna has always been indecisive regarding her future, with all of the who, what, when, where, and hows being uncertain.<p>

After a few hours of searching non stop, Anna decided to take a few minutes to eat some lunch while she thought about some more places to apply. She was quickly realizing that there were not very many places that would hire a shy seventeen year old girl. Most of the conversations ended when they would ask her if she had any experience. Then Anna thought about places where she didn't need any.

As she sat there eating her food, she looked out the window and saw a grocery store, 'Oakens', the parking lot was full suggesting that they were busy, surely they would have some room for an inexperienced teenage girl, she thought. Anna quickly finished her food and made her way to the store. Once inside, she was able to locate the manager and ask about any openings they may have.

"Excuse me sir?" Anna said in a rather shy tone.

"Hi there! How can I help you today?" said the manager, he was a rather happy man, extremely tall and just as wide.

"Well actually I was wondering how I could help _you_, see I am looking for a job." Said the girl with great confidence, and a wide smile on her face. She hoped she wouldn't come off as fake.

The man looked around as if he was thinking about something, perhaps even in careful consideration. "Do you have any skills? Like are you good with numbers and money? Can you cut meat?"

Anna looked at him blankly for a brief second while she considered her answer before responding. "I can do anything you teach me to do. I promise I am a quick study. I am looking for a foot in the door."

"Alright, I think I have something for ya. Can you be here on Monday say at eight in the morning?" asked the man.

A large toothy grin immediately graced Anna's face, "Absolutely, sir!" said the girl with perhaps what might have been an unreasonable amount of excitement.

"Fantastic, I will see you then!" said the man before he continued about his duty, leaving Anna alone.

'Maybe I am not a lost cause after all.' thought the young red head.

She headed for home, not realizing how far she actually lived from the store. Anna began to doubt weather nor not she would actually make it there by eight on Monday.

* * *

><p>After what felt like hours of continuous walking she finally entered their apartment building and started to climb the stairs. After all of that walking, she was ready to get off of her feet, Kristoff still wouldn't be home for a few more hours. When she arrived at their door she noticed it was slightly ajar, and a massive adrenalin surge rocked her tiny five foot one hundred and ten pound body. Anna could practically feel herself turning in the hulk, felt like she could destroy whoever was inside of their home uninvited. She put her ear to the door and listened intently while she tried to ignore the sound of her heart pounding in her ears.<p>

Inside she could make out the sounds of Sven panting and tail whacking the coffee table over and over again. She could barely make out the sound of an oddly feminine voice talking to the dog. Anna thought it was strange how protective Sven was, but now, when someone was actually inside of their home, he was just happy as could be. Anna took off her shoes and her heart began to pound louder and louder as she slowly pushed the door open as quietly as she could. She crouched low to the floor and slowly made her way to the back of the couch where the intruder sat petting the dog obliviously, the sound was deafening in her ears at this point so she was unable to make out any words being spoken.

Once in position, and with as much strength and precision as she could at the moment, Anna reached up with one arm and hooked it around the perpetrator's neck and forcefully pulled back, thus restraining the person against the back of the sofa. Anna shielded her head behind the sofa back from the panicked flailing that would no doubt follow. She maintained her purchase on the person while she yelled for them to stop resisting. After what seemed like an eternity the intruder finally seemed to calm down.

Anna rose from behind the sofa back and caught her first glimpse of the intruder, or at least the back of her head.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in here?" Anna asked forcefully.

The other woman whipped her head around and stood up from the couch, slowly backing herself into the corner of the living area. She had dark hair and vibrant blue eyes though they appeared sunken and gaunt.

"One could ask the same of you." snapped the other woman.

Anna began to get even more angry. "What are you doing in Kristoff's apartment?"

"He is- my friend, we know each other." said the dark haired woman. The more Anna looked at her the more she began to recognize her.

"Oh my god, its you! The girl from the picture." surmised Anna.

"What?" asked the other woman in her apparent confusion.

"Elsa? Right?"

Slowly the brunette nodded in conformation.

"He told me that you vanished years ago. Do you have any idea how bad you hurt him?" asked Anna in a very defensive tone. She would never stand for anyone ever hurting the man who had given her a second chance in life.

The other woman was starting to get angry now. "I don't know who you think you are, but A, this is none of your business and B, it's not that simple."

Just then, as if on cue, Anna heard the toilet flush and a small girl who couldn't be more that three or four came walking out of the bathroom. Anna's jaw practically hit the floor, she was stunned.

"Mommy, I'm hungry." said the young girl before she came into the living room. Once she saw Anna standing there, the girl stopped dead in her tracks, like a deer in the head lights. Then she bolted over and crashed into Elsa.

Anna just stared, she couldn't find any words for _this_.

"We will be leaving now." said Elsa as she took her daughters hand and made her way to the door.

"Wait!" shouted Anna. "Please!"

Elsa and her daughter stopped and turned around. "Who is that lady, mommy?" the girl whispered to her mother.

The wheels in Anna's mind were turning a million miles an hour, trying to come up with something intelligent to say to the woman. Instead she settled, "I can tell just by looking at you, that you need help. If you guys need food, take it. But I _know_ that Kristoff would do anything for you, Elsa."

"Yeah well he certainly didn't four years ago." remarked Elsa. "Never mind" she gestured with a wave of her hand.

"Okay, I don't what happened between you two back then, but I can assure you that he is not that same man. Kristoff saved my life in more ways than one. You should take a chance on him." said Anna.

"No thanks, we are leaving now, and I would appreciate it if you would not tell him that I was here." said Elsa as she turned back around and left with her daughter in her hand.

Anna plopped down on the couch and just stared at the door in disbelief. Thoughts flooded her mind. Was there any validity to what she was saying? Did Kristoff know that she had a daughter? The man that Anna knew, she basically considered an angel, but did he have a darker side; does he? As she filled with uncertainty, Anna could feel herself start to tremble. Before she knew it tears began to fall. Anna let herself become increasingly close to the man, perhaps even developing feelings for him, but here he was keeping secrets from her, but then again so was she. Although Anna felt like hers was much more dark and sinister. She felt like she should say something to him, but would he even believe her? Its really none of her business in all honesty though. In the end she decided against saying anything and hoped that Elsa would reach out on her own. Anna could not fathom living on the street and trying to care for a child. What an impossible situation, what a strong woman it would take to do that. There must be more to their story, surely, she thought.

**Things are going to get more intricate from here on out, but in the end everything will come together I promise. Stick with me here, and I hope you all are enjoying the story. If you have any questions, please ask. Thoughts and comments welcome, wanted and needed.**


	6. Chapter 6

They sat in silence at the dinner table, slowly eating their food. To Kristoff it was just another normal dinner, a fantastic meal cooked by his beloved roommate. Anna however, was trying to make sense of the whole situation with Elsa and her brother and what kinda of a relationship they have or had. Somehow they sick and twisted relationship she had with her own brother had wormed it's self in to her mind, causing her to shudder and drop her fork onto her plate with an impossible loud clatter.

Kristoff looked up from his food at the sound, "Everything alright there?" he asked.

"Yeah, just slipped from out of my hand." Anna waved off his concern in a dismissive manner.

"Are you sure? You seem rather distant today." said Kristoff.

Anna looked at him right in the eye and said "No, something has been weighing on my mind, I guess you could say."

"Should I ask what that is?"

She shook her head, "No, I am sure you will tell me when you're ready. Or we could play the 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours' game if you like."

Kristoff stopped chewing and just stared at her for a moment before swallowing his food, it took him but a second to figure out that she wanted to know more about his sister. "Thanks for dinner, it was good." said the man as he got up from his table and went to his room.

That was the last she would see of him for the night, and she knew it. Anna looked over at Sven and said "I would tell him my story first but I am afraid of what he will think of me, somehow I think his is not as bad as mine."

The dog raised his ears upon hearing the woman talking to him. Anna sighed deeply and pushed her plate away from her, "Too bad you're a dog, otherwise I would ask you what I should do."

With that, Anna cleared the table and cleaned the kitchen as usual before heading off to bed.

* * *

><p>Anna's first day at work was rather uneventful, at first she was assigned a menial task such as bagging grocery s and helping the customers out to their vehicles. The owner of the store, after hearing several compliments about the fantastic hard working red head, decided to give her something a little more challenging and pay her a little more for it. Her next task was working at the customer service counter, and having to handle the good, the bad, and the ugly with as much tact and grace as possible, most of the time however, the customer had no intention of making her job easy.<p>

Kristoff was a little disappointed when Anna got a job, but they had similar shifts so it wasn't too bad in his opinion. He had insisted that she continue to stay with him in the apartment. The two of them had grown quite close as time passed, but their relationship had not progressed beyond where they were currently. Kristoff had been thinking about this every night as he lay there alone staring up at the ceiling. One night while doing just that, he decided that reason that they didn't feel completely comfortable around each other was likely because they were still strangers on some level. And he did not want to be strangers with her anymore.

After work one night, they finally got home within just a few minutes of one another, Kristoff helped Anna make dinner and set the table, and took the dog out while the food was in the oven. He noted that living with a woman had changed him and his habits, he chuckled at this.

He looked down at his dog while they roamed the street on which they lived. "Tonight I am going to tell her, Sven."

Sven looked up at the man and wagged his tail. Kristoff smiled and they made their way back to the apartment where the food was waiting on the table for him, the beautiful red head across the table already digging in.

* * *

><p>As they ate, Kristoff was trying to come up with a way to bring up the subject without making it sound shallow and weird. Just thinking about it made his feel disgusted with himself.<p>

The sound of Anna's voice cut into his thoughts, making him drop the fork he was holding.

"It started about three years ago, I didn't really understand at the time, it wasn't something I really enjoyed but he made it into a game of sorts." said Anna in a soft voice while she poked and pushed her food around on her plate.

Kristoff looked at her in confusion, "What?" he really had not been paying attention to what she was saying.

Anna flashed him a smile once she knew she had recaptured his attention. "Hans, he would come into my room at night, at first it was just touching, ya know? Figuring out what all the people were talking about at school."

Kristoff looked right in to her eyes, he could feel the tears welling up in his own. He cleared his throat, "Anna, you absolutely do not have to tell me, in fact you probably shouldn't because from the little I have already heard, I can honestly say that if I ever see him again, it's highly unlikely that he will survive the encounter."

She continued anyway, "I have to get this out, Kristoff. I haven't talked about it with anyone."

Kristoff nodded for her to continue.

"Anyways, the touching escalated and eventually evolving into things that were painful. For a while there I was broken and depressed until finally something clicked inside of my head, suddenly I had the urge to leave I guess. I may have escaped but instead of being safe and sound, I ended up on the streets for a couple of years." Anna chuckled a little. "Hindsight, right?"

Kristoff reached out across the table and put his hand on hers, eyes meeting each other's gaze. "I am always here for you, Anna." he retracted his hand, however their eyes lingered on one another for a long while. Kristoff cleared his throat, "I suppose that since you shared, I could do the same for you. Elsa's leaving was entirely my fault."

Anna's eyebrow raised at his statement, "What do you mean, it's all your fault, how?"

"After our parents died, Elsa was having a really hard time dealing with everything, she started hanging out with the wrong people, doing drugs and making poor decisions in general. What she needed was support and instead I did the exact opposite." said the man with shame lacing his voice.

"When was the last time you saw her?" asked Anna.

"About four or so years ago." answered the man.

"Do you miss her?"

Kristoff looked at her, eyes glazed with tears, "If I could go back in time, I would. I should have made better choices myself. If I could right every wrong I had ever done, I would. Yes, Anna I do really miss her. Just thinking about it makes me feel like a piece of shit so I don't want to talk about it anymore, but thanks for sharing."

Anna gave him a soft smile while she reached out and put her small hand on his. "Kristoff, you're not the person you seem to think you are, I can't speak for the past but the Kristoff that I know, he is hands down the nicest man I have ever met. I think you should reach out to her, it's never too late. Somewhere along the lines, you changed-" she was cut off by the man that sat across from her.

"You" said Kristoff.

She retracted her hand and raised an eyebrow at him, "What?"

"You changed me, Anna" said Kristoff with a light chuckle. "Ever since you came into my life, I have felt better than I had in a long time, when you're in the room, it's like life is brighter."

"Kristoff..." said Anna with a glowing blush on her face. "Let's just agree that we are really important to each other alright? Are you done eating?"

He looked down at his plate and nodded "yes thanks for dinner."

"How about a movie?" asked Anna.

"Ya know, we could go out to a movie, because I feel like the moment we start one, the people upstairs are going to start romping again." said the man.

"Yeah, ok your probably right." said the girl. Kristoff noted a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"What's wrong? I'll buy."

Anna sighed as she got up and cleared the table, "No, it's not that, I just kind of wanted to stay home and relax on the couch and watch one. But if you want to go out then that's fine."

"No no, if you want to stay home then that is what we will do, I was just thinking that they-" he pointed up to the ceiling "get a little loud, ya know."

Anna smiled at him, "I promise if they get too loud, I will bang on the ceiling to get them to be quiet."

The two went over and sat down on the couch and selected a movie to watch on pay per view. As they sat on the couch, Anna noticed that Kristoff put his arm around her, not touching but across the back of the sofa. "Not very subtle there, Kristoff." she announced.

"I don't know what you're talking about." smirked Kristoff.

"Well I do" said the girl as she grabbed his arm and pulled it around herself and snuggled into his side. The act cause Kristoff to look at her with a fake scowl and narrowed eyes. "Oh, don't look at me like that, I am not stupid ya know."

Her insinuation made the look fall from his face, "I didn't say that."

The fact that the two of them managed to stay like that for two full hours must have said something to the both about how the other felt. They knew they liked each other but they still don't really know where they stood in one anthers mind. In the moment though, Anna knew that she liked having a rather large, strong arm wrapped around her making her feel safe and warm. She intertwined her fingers with those on the hand that was currently around her, and Kristoff leaned his head over and down and gently kissed the top of her head. They both felt the radiating warmth of each other's touch and wished that they could remain in that position forever.

* * *

><p>Anna had an understandable reluctance to get too close to Kristoff for which she constantly berated herself. She really did like him, and she believed that he too felt the same way, after all he all but confirmed it the night before. The sequence of events kept playing over and over in her mind, filling her with joy as she daydreamed while she crouched behind the counter as she stocked the cigarettes. Today had been rather slow on the work front, so she decided to take some initiative and go the extra mile, of which Anna had always been a firm believer, and indeed she was right because once the boss noticed, she received praise.<p>

A sharp metallic ringing sound from the bell on the counter cut through her daydream like a knife, pulling her from her fantasy and back in to reality. Anna stood and was greeted by a familiar face, the beautiful brunette.

"Excuse me, hi!" said the woman, who had not immediately recognized Anna.

"Hey! I was wondering if I would ever see you again!" Anna said excitedly.

The other woman's head cocked a little but her smile still remained on her face. "Sorry, but I forgot your name."

"Oh, it's Anna." said the redhead. "How can I help you?" She jumped into a professional tone as the manager walked by, and because she did not wish to pry into the other woman's business with her brother.

"Well I was wondering if there were any job openings here, between you and me, I am trying to do right by my daughter but I find that moving forward in life is very slow and daunting to say the least." said Elsa frankly.

Anna leaned forward onto the counter, "I don't know if there are any, but I can certainly vouch for you, if and only if you promise that you won't let me down and embarrass me, not trying to be rude here, but I hope you understand."

Elsa smiled slightly and nodded, "I do." she leaned in closer toward the redhead "How is he?" she asked.

Anna sighed and nodded lightly, "You know what, it's none of my business what went on between you two really, but I will say that he doing alright. He misses you though, I can tell and he said as much. I am going to go and find the manager alright?" said Anna as walked around the counter. "Wait here please."

Elsa watched as Anna disappeared into the crowd of people in search of the manager. When she returned, he pulled Elsa aside and talked to her. Anna watched from a distance as she saw a smile appear on the woman's face. Elsa made her way back over to Anna, who had returned to her duty at the customer service counter.

"He told me to come in the morning around eight." said Elsa with a smile.

"That's fantastic! Just remember that you absolutely cannot let me down here, I mean it." Anna stated with seriousness in her voice.

Elsa stood up and corrected her posture unconsciously "I won't you have my word. I really appreciate what you have done for me here, Kristoff is lucky to have you."

Anna looked at the woman for a moment as she basked in her sense of approval, a grin slowly crept over her face, followed by a blush. "He is an amazing man, really. If anything, I am the one who is lucky to have him."

Elsa smiled and nodded before the two exchanged good byes. The rest of Anna's workday was very uneventful and seemed to drag on. The anticipation of getting to see Kristoff again was really making the girl excited, every few minutes she would check the time and realize that only a couple of minutes had actually passed and that in a sense she was no closer to getting to see him.

* * *

><p>Once again dinner time had come and Anna was feeling anxious about whether or not she should tell Kristoff about Elsa or not. This time they had elected to eat their dinner on the couch while watching some television. Anna had only been half paying attention when the sound or his voice cut through her cloud of thoughts.<p>

"Damn, I didn't think she was actually going to kill him!" shouted the man rhetorically. He then looked at Anna expecting her to comment on the show as well. When she didn't answer he gently nudged her in the arm. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked.

She looked at him with a mildly startled expression on her face, "Yeah, no I am fine." Followed by a fake smile for his benefit, which unfortunately he saw right through.

Kristoff picked up the remote and put the television on mute before turning his body toward her and giving his complete and undivided attention to her, "No, tell me what's up with you, I don't understand why your being so quiet and distant tonight." Demanded the man.

Anna looked into his eyes for a brief second before focusing her attention back onto the plate of half eaten food on it, which sat in her lap. She had been thinking long and hard about how she wanted to handle this situation, and after much internal deliberation, she had finally come to her conclusion; indirectly.

She put her plate of food onto the coffee table and turned to look at him, "Kristoff, um… I..we" she sighed at not being able to find the right words, "Do you feel _this_?" she asked while motioning to the space between them.

"What do you mean _this_?" he asked while performing the same gesture.

Anna's cheeks flushed with red at her next line, "Is there something between us?" she asked as a small smile graced her lips.

Kristoff leaned back against the back of the sofa as if he was deep in thought, "Um, your my best friend and roommate, Anna. Unless you feel differently?" said Kristoff with his eye brow raised in question.

"Well, I mean maybe, I feel different when I am around you, like I don't have to hide or be shy. There is no question that things are complicated in life right not, but Kristoff, you make me feel things that I would never be able to feel again. I really, _really_ like you." Said the young red headed woman.

Kristoff gently took her hands into his, the sensation made her close her eyes as the heat radiated throughout her body all from a simple touch. "Anna, when we are not together, I think about you, I think about these little moments that we get together, see you're home. I mean home is where ever you are. I wish I knew of better words to describe the way I feel, but all I know is that I have never felt like this with anyone else before." Said the man.

"Kristoff" Anna said in a soft voice as their eyes met and she threw her arms around him, pulling him in close. After a few moments their embrace parted slightly leaving their faces mere inches apart from one another. Anna smiled a little at the band of sweat that began to cover his forehead. His eyes darted between her eyes and mouth.

For a lot of people that first kiss is an awkward one to say the least, but in the case of Kristoff and Anna, it was natural. She pulled his face in close and their lips met, nerves began to calm, hearts started to race and before either of them knew it, Anna had pushed him back on the sofa so that he was laying supine with her straddling his hips, their heads were shrouded in her long fiery red hair. She braced herself by putting her hands on his firm chest and pushing up so that she was sitting, there she gasped for breath.

Kristoff reached his hands up and pulled her back down close to him, he knew she wasn't really ready for that endeavor, no, instead they lay there tangled up with each other on the couch, and slowly the world started to fade to black as they began to fall asleep together.

A new day awaited then tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

The morning brought large smiles and blushes from one another, neither of them had been ready to move from that position, but alas the new day awaited them. Anna reached up and felt her hair which was wet once again. She swung her head around and looked at the man behind her with narrow eyes.

"You did it again, Kristoff." Said the woman, a hint of disgust in her voice.

"What, I can't help it, alright?" pleaded Kristoff as he squeezed her tighter in their embrace. "I am going to make it up to you." he said.

"What? How?"

"Wouldn't be much of a surprise then would it now?" he said with a smile.

Anna could only grin at the man, "With what? Food?" she said with a chuckle.

"I don't know, I haven't decided yet." Said Kristoff.

Anna shook her head and got up from the couch, "I have to get ready for work." She stated, disappointment laced her voice. She felt like laying there with Kristoff all day might not be such a bad thing, even if she did get fired for not showing up. Her work ethic however, was much better than that.

Before she walked off to the bathroom to take a shower, she leaned back down and kissed the man once again, "I..um. Thank you." She said quickly before she scurried off to the bathroom, a bright red blush painted on her face.

She was gone before he had the chance to respond, so he just closed his eyes and tried to get the butter flies that filled his stomach to calm down. 'Is this what happiness feels like?' he thought.

* * *

><p>Her work day had started off rather unusual, for one thing was the new girl, Elsa, is paired with her for training. The girl had arrived on time as promised. As the two of them talked, Anna found her to be pleasant company, she was not mean or rude, in fact, Anna noticed similarities between Elsa and Kristoff's personality. She didn't know how Kristoff was at work but, his sister was certainly focused and driven, not to mention a fast learner as well.<p>

"Most of the customers are nicer than I had imagined them to be." Remarked Elsa.

Anna laughed, "Oh you say that now, but just you wait until you get a really angry one" she leaned in closer to the brunette, "You're going to love it. Oh and then of course you're going to get men coming up and either flirt or straight up hit on you."

"Well, I don't know if that is such a bad thing at this point." Elsa chucked slightly, which evolved into a full laughter upon seeing the inquisitive look that Anna was giving her.

"Why would you want them to flirt with you? I don't get it." Stated the red head.

Just then a customer walked up and began to ask them for a refund on a purchase, so Anna began to walk Elsa through the steps. They were so caught up in what they were doing that they didn't notice the next customer in line was actually Kristoff, and he hung back a little and just stared at Anna for a little while, not even noticing the other girl standing next to her, let alone noticing who she was. He took a moment to straighten out his clothes and smooth his hair a little before approaching Anna at the counter. He thought up a seemingly clever line and made his move.

"Hey beautiful, are you ready for lunch?" said the blond man as he leaned on the counter.

"Kristoff!" Anna looked at him for a seconded before she spoke, "What are you doing all the way over here?" she asked.

"I told you I was going to surprise you, remember? Because I got your hair wet last night." He stated.

Elsa was standing far enough away that Kristoff didn't pay any attention to her, but close enough to overhear everything they were saying, and when she heard that he had gotten her hair wet last night, she found herself repulsed by the images flooding her mind. She considered herself 'adventurous' but, when the thought included her brother, she found it disgusting.

"Well it's a little early for lunch but I suppose that I could still eat." Said the girl with a smile and mild blush on her face. "I just need to take care of something real quick, alright?"

Kristoff nodded and Anna walked away to ask her boss to cover for her while she took her lunch. After getting his approval she returned back to the counter and discreetly told Elsa that she would have to be on her own for a little while, before she clocked out and left with Kristoff for lunch. When they got into the car, Anna noticed a small cup with flowers in the cup holder. It looked like they had been hand-picked from the side of the road. The sight caused her to grin from ear to ear.

"Now before you say anything" he gestured to the flowers that she currently had her eyes on "It's the thought that counts, although in this case the thought occurred about five minutes before I got here." He said with a chuckle.

"They're perfect, Kristoff. I love them, thanks." Said Anna before she leant over the center console and kissed him on the cheek. The praise along with the kiss made the man blush like a twelve year old.

"I am glad you liked them! Just don't eat them or touch them or smell them, cause I don't know if they are poisons or not." Said Kristoff with a straight face.

Anna smiled and shook her head at the man, "Kristoff, they are dandelions, they are harmless. Anyway where are we going for lunch?" she asked.

* * *

><p>They found themselves sitting there at the table once again, staring at each other while avoiding one anthers glances. They ate dinner together all the time, but it was very rare that they would ever catch a lunch. Kristoff opened with some small talk, which Anna returned but after a while the conversation morphed into a discussion about work and the new girl that Anna was training, Kristoff had off handedly glanced at her and decided that she looked somewhat familiar.<p>

"Is that who the dark haired chick was? The new girl?" asked Kristoff before taking another large bite of food.

Anna nodded at the same time as she was chewing and trying to swallow so that she could answer him, "Yeah, you should come and say hi to her. She is a little shy and could benefit from the extra practice, ya know… of talking to someone else." She had decided that she wanted to try and get them together, while she could still maintain her plausible deniability.

"You know me, always helping people." He poked a little fun at Anna's expense.

Anna shot him a look which said that she did not appreciate that. He instantly got the unspoken message, "Sorry…"

"So how is your job coming?" asked Anna.

"Eh, it's boring and I don't feel like talking about it honestly." He scoffed before taking another large bite.

"Alright, well what do you want to do tonight?" asked the red head in a mildly suggestive and playfully seductive tone, causing Kristoff to freeze in place mouth still agape.

He coughed and diverted his eyes away from Anna so that he could regain his composure. "umm… I don't know." Said the man, at the same time he was thinking 'What does _she_ want to do tonight?'

Kristoff felt her foot slide up and down the side of his leg very gently, causing his knee to jerk up and smash into the underside of the table and knock over his drink.

Anna laughed rather hard at him, "What's wrong there?" she asked in a teasing voice.

He coughed once again and put his sandwich back down on the plate while he scrambled for some napkins to clean up his spilled soda, "Are you alluding to what I think you're alluding to? Or are you just teasing me?" he asked.

All she could do is smile at him, "I think it's time for you to take me back to work now, Kristoff." This time in a very seductive voice.

'Where is _this_ coming from?' he thought.

"Oh please, Anna, be nice." begged the man.

* * *

><p>They walked back into the store hand in hand, both of them smiling from ear to ear and blissfully unaware of the world around them. He walked Anna back up to the counter and attempted to introduce himself to Anna's new friend, the new girl, <em>his sister.<em>

At first his smile toward the woman was genuine and sincere but it began to fall as he looked at her and noticed that there was something about her that looked familiar to him.

"Hi, Kris." said Elsa to her brother. At that his face dropped, while he couldn't pinpoint why she _looked_ so familiar, when she spoke he immediately recognized her voice.

"Elsa?!" he exclaimed, as his eyebrows shot through the roof. He gave Anna a most incredulous look, "You knew didn't you?" he asked her.

Anna meekly nodded as if he was rejecting her, however, he wasn't. Instead he just shook his head and decided enough was enough, he turned his attention back to his sister, "I want you to follow Anna back home, alright? We need to talk and get some stuff out of the way and put behind us."

Elsa nodded at her brother's request. Kristoff leaned over the counter and kissed Anna before heading out the door. Once the man had left, Elsa leaned a little closer to Anna, "Wow" said Elsa before giggling some.

"It certainly looks like you two are doing well."

Without looking away from the door Kristoff had just left though, Anna replied, "He makes life worth living."

"I guarantee that he would say that same thing about you." Said Elsa, eliciting a blush from the redheaded woman. Anna spun around to face the other woman.

"So tell me, what about you? How are you doing? Who are you exactly? When he speaks of you, I wish you could hear his tone, see his face. It seems that most of his memory regarding you bring pain." Anna stated in a rather accuser tone.

Elsa looked down to the floor for a moment before answering, "I assume it's because he feels guilty about kicking me out, see I made some poor choices in the past, drugs and crime and so on…"

Anna merely looked at her with shock. "What?" she asked. "He told me you vanished…"

Elsa ignored her and continued. "He always was the smarter one when it came to plans and walking the straight and narrow in life. In hindsight, I would have kicked my stupid ass out too." Elsa conceded.

"He kicked you out?"

"Well, in not so many words, actually we had a big fight and I just never came home- we can talk more about this later alright?" said Elsa.

Anna gave a disappointed look and nodded.

* * *

><p>Following the instructions that Kristoff had given them, Elsa went with Anna as they headed towards the apartment.<p>

"Stop over here please, I have to pick up Emma from pre-school." Asked Elsa.

"Oh is that your daughter's name?"

Elsa nodded at the other woman. She got out of the car and walked into the school and after a few minutes she came out with a young girl in tow. Unlike her mother the girl had long blond hair, beautiful brown eyes and a bright smile, which quickly fell upon getting in to the car and seeing Anna once again. One could tell that Emma way shy, because she kept quiet and her eyes down as she sat there in the back seat.

The rest of the drive was short and uneventful, and after a few minutes they pulled up at the apartment where she and Kristoff lived. As they climbed the stairs, Anna felt herself become a little nervous for some unknown reason.

They all gathered around the door as Anna unlocked it. As soon as Sven heard the key slide into the lock he ran to the door and started barking and wagging his tail.

"Hey buddy!" cheered Anna.

Elsa directed Emma to take Sven over into the living room to play while the grown-ups talked for a while.

Anna noticed that Kristoff was nowhere to be found, 'Maybe he is in his room changing or something.' She thought. Just as she started walking toward his room, Kristoff burst through the front door with two pizza boxes stacked on one hand and a couple of soda bottles in a bag hanging on from the other.

"Oh looks like you all beat me here!" he said with a smile.

"You're awfully perky." Stated Anna. "I was more under the impression that you were going to be grumpy and mad when I got home."

"Yeah well at some point in the day I got over it." Said the man as he put the food down on the table. "And who is this?" he asked gently as he gestured toward Emma.

"That is your niece, Emma." Answered Elsa as she grinned from ear to ear.

Kristoff slowly strode his way over to the girl and knelt down in front of her and began petting the dog with her. "Hi, Emma, my name is Kristoff." He said softly. Kristoff didn't really have a lot of experience with children but he was making an effort which earned him soft expressions of delight from both woman, though for different reasons.

The young girl was too shy to even look at him, and all she could manage is "Hi".

"Sorry, Kris, she is a little shy." Piped up her mother. Kristoff stood and walked back over to the woman and opened the pizza boxes and grabbed some while he gestured for the others to do the same.

"I have been doing a lot of thinking and decided that I don't want to bring up that past. I am glad you are here, Elsa, and all I want to do is move forward, alright? I am not going to ask a bunch of questions, I figure that if you want me to know something, then you will tell me." Said Kristoff between bites.

He looked over to Anna who had already scarfed down about three pieces of pizza, hiding them somewhere in her small frame. "Where did you put it all?" he asked with raised eyebrows as he wrapped his free arm around Anna's slim waist.

Elsa let out a laugh, "you two are really cute together." Said the woman, earning bright red blushes from them both. She walked over and got herself some food and drink as well.

"Speaking of which, where is Emma's father?" asked Anna in a lower voice, unsure if what she was asking was off limits or not.

Elsa's face fell at the question, "Eli died a little before Emma was born. I had since stopped using, but I guess he hadn't. In all honesty it wasn't anything too serious anyway." She whispered.

"Well where have you been staying?" asked Kristoff.

"Don't worry about it, alright? You said you want to move forward? Well then let's do that, enough about the past."

Kristoff knew better than to take no for an answer when it came to his sister, "Alright at least answer me this, do you have somewhere to go tonight?"

Elsa was silent as she looked down to the floor. The conversation between them was beginning to make Anna rather uncomfortable, and she felt the compulsion to give her two cents, in an effort to help in some way.

"Why don't you guys spend the night, I mean we work in the same place anyway right?" Anna resorted to using logic and pragmatism to make her point. "You and Emma can sleep in your old room."

Elsa sighed, "That's awfully generous of you but it looks like you and Kris have good thing going here and I don't want to ruin it with our presence. And besides where would you sleep?"

"No please, I insist. This is your home before its mine, besides the couch is very soft and comfortable." Anna's plea earned her a strange look from Kristoff.

"um… yeah, I think you should stay. At least try it out for a night and see." Added the man.

A tear started to form in her eye as she looked at the genuine expressions on Anna and Kristoff's faces. Elsa certainly had not come here expecting food and pleasant company, let an offer of hospitality from her brother. She considered refusing but when her eyes landed on her daughter, Elsa felt obligated to stay. This place was far better than any that she could ever hope to provide for her. She hadn't made it a habit to accept handouts from people in any shape, form or fashion, but this somehow felt different, like they weren't pitying her. Elsa had strived for her independence from the moment she found out she was pregnant with Emma. The two of them had been through a lot together and perhaps they deserved a break.

"Alright, but just for tonight, and Emma and I will sleep on the couch out here-" Elsa was cut off by Anna.

"Absolutely not, you will sleep in _your_ room in _your_ bed." Demanded the redhead.

"Jesus Christ, I will sleep on the couch and Anna can sleep in my room, Elsa you sleep in yours. There it's settled. You two are both stubborn." The last part of his comment caused both woman to swing their heads toward him simultaneously. "Whaaat?" asked the man, a heavy sarcasm lacing his voice.

"You sir, have no leg to stand on, Mr. 'I just need a band-aid'" said Anna in a mocking voice, causing Elsa to laugh.

"That sounds like something he would say." Laughed the older woman.

Anna chucked slightly and pointed toward Kristoff's shoulder, "Go ahead, show her the scar."

Kristoff scoffed and leaned back in his seat and took another bit of his food, "I ain't showing anybody anything." He said as he shook his head in defiance eliciting a loud laugh from both woman. "I don't know what you think is so funny."

Anna turned to Elsa, "Kristoff is the definition of stubborn."

"I could not agree with you more." Elsa looked at the time and realized it was past Emma's bedtime, or at least past the time she tried to get her to bed every night. "Oh wow, its getting late, I need to get Emma to bed, good night you two and thanks for dinner." Said Elsa as he abruptly got up and ushered her daughter off toward her bedroom.

Once they were out of sight, Anna got up and walked over to Kristoff and sat down next to him, "Sorry for picking on you like that, I just wanted to make her feel at home."

"At my expense?"

"Well it's not like I said anything that wasn't true." She said as she smiled and gently poked him in the chest. "And you don't have to sleep on the couch ya know."

"Don't take this the wrong way but, I wasn't planning on it." He told the red headed woman before sweeping her off the couch effortlessly and carrying her to his bedroom.

"Kristoff…" squealed Anna as she threw her arms around his neck. "What are you doing?"

"There is no reason that either one of us needs to sleep on the couch when there is a comfortable bed in here that is plenty big enough for both of us." He answered before tossing the woman down onto the bed.

He stood there for a moment and admired the beautiful fiery red hair that was now sprawled out all over the place, and how her shirt was half pulled up over the pale skin of her stomach. Anna noticed his gaze and patted the spot on the bed next to her. Kristoff obeyed the unspoken command from the woman and climbed in next to her. She rolled up into his side and put her hand on his chest, the two of the just stared at the ceiling in silence as if they were unsure of each other's thoughts. Anna gently pulled his chin towards her and looked into his eyes.

"Do you have any idea how happy you make me?" she asked.

Kristoff noticed a trace of a tear forming in the corner of her eye. He mustered some humor to prevent any more tears from forming, "Probably not nearly as happy as you make me." Said the man as he put on a bright smile and pulled her in for a kiss.

After they parted he saw that his wit had been unsuccessful in halting any further watershed, "Hey hey, what wrong, Anna?" begged Kristoff as he put a little distance between them so that he could focus more clearly on her eyes.

Anna sniffed a few times and wiped her tears, "I know what you want, Kristoff, and I feel really bad about not being able to give you that. I mean I want it too but I can't."

"What are you talking about, Anna?" asked the man. After a moment of sinking in he realized what she meant before she had the chance to clarify it for him. He immediately took his hands off of her and pushed himself away from her, "I am so sorry, Anna."

She smiled lightly at the man and pulled his shirt towards her, "I know, Kristoff. I said I wanted it too, it's just that part of me feels like intimacy is ruined for me, I just can't stop that thoughts of my brother… from flooding my mind. I just want you to know that it's not you, I am the one who is broken." She said as she rested her head on his chest.

"Your anything but broken, Anna." He kissed her on the top of her head. "And I think that what we have runs even deeper than that, at least that's how I feel." He said as he stroked her hair until she they both fell asleep.

* * *

><p>The couple was awoken by the distant blaring of the alarm clock in Elsa's room which indicated it was time for her and Anna to get up and get ready for work. After an uneventful breakfast Anna kissed Kristoff before she and Elsa headed out the door and down to the car.<p>

"Hey baby you have good day at school alright?" Elsa cooed to her daughter as they dropped her off at her school.

"What's it like?" asked Anna.

Elsa turned to her with a confused expression on her face. "What is what like?"

"Having a child, being a mother."

Elsa sighed at the question. "Well, it's one hell of a reality check I will tell you that. But really, Emma is the single best thing that has ever happened to me. She provided me with the motivation I needed to turn my life around. Looking back she is worth every bit of trouble and pain that I had to endure. Strange as it may seem, she saved me, Anna."

Anna smiled at Elsa's answer. "I think you are a good mother."

Elsa scoffed at the complement, "I sure don't feel like it, I have never been able to provide her with any kind of stability in her life, she has no father, no home, and for a while she had no family other than me."

"What's it like to be in love?" Anna asked without skipping a beat, earning her a rather shocked expression from the woman sitting next to her.

"I don't know, honestly. Judging by the way you and Kristoff look at each other, I should be the one asking you that question." Stated Elsa.

Anna blushed. "I think I am in love with him, even when he sometimes drives me crazy."

Elsa smiled grinned from ear to ear, "How do you think he feels about you? I think the dreamy look on your face is adorable by the way."

They pulled into the parking lot at work. "I hope he feels that same way about me, god Elsa, it's both terrifying and exciting at the same time."


	8. Chapter 8

Anna returned to the customer service counter to find a man with her color of red hair talking to Elsa over the counter. Immediately she turned around and headed back to the bathroom and locked herself into a stall before anyone could see her. She waited there for a good while before she was able to work up the nerve to walk back out to her post at the counter and resume working if the coast was clear. She sighed in relief to find that it was.

"Did you fall in?" asked Elsa, sarcasm lacing her voice in regards to Anna's extended absence.

Anna turned her head and gave her a fake smile that the woman was able to see right through. "Not exactly. Who was that man? The one with the red hair that was flirting with you."

Elsa's expression turned dreamy, much to Anna's disgust. "Oh him? I didn't catch his name actually, but he certainly was a looker, eh?"

Anna was silent on the matter. "You will not be engaging with him if you ever see him again, understand?" commanded the younger woman, a frightening stare piercing Elsa's face.

"Can I ask why?" asked Elsa with a rather coy tone.

Anna turned back around and faced the older woman once again. "This is one of those things you are just going to have to trust me on, alright?"

Elsa nodded in agreement while looking down and away. "Yeah your right, I supposed I just liked the attention." Said Elsa.

"Attention is nice, don't get me wrong, Elsa, but there are some people that you do not want it from, be it good or bad." Anna comforted as she put a hand on the other woman's shoulder causing her to look once again.

Anna felt her phone start buzzing in her pocket, when she pulled it out and looked at it she saw a text from Kristoff.

_I am getting off early, what do you want for dinner?_

* * *

><p>"Oh, this is so good Kris!" remarked Elsa as she shoved a fork full of pancake into her mouth.<p>

Everyone was gathered at the table for a family dinner, including Emma, while Sven took his post at Kristoff's feet next to his chair. Anna had decided she wanted to do breakfast for dinner today, much to everyone else's delight.

"Yes dear, they are fantastic even if they are from a box." Said Anna as she leaned over and gave Kristoff a syrup laced kiss, evoking a blush from both of them.

Kristoff turned towards his niece, "Hey Emma, how do you like the pancakes? Would you like some more bacon?"

"Its good, tank you!" said the young girl with excitement. Much to Kristoff's relief Emma had begun to talk to him more and more.

Elsa turned to her brother, "Hey, I just want to thank you for letting us stay here, I have been saving up some money for a place of our own-" she was cut off.

"It's been really good to have you back, Elsa. I really missed you and I would love for you to stay with us a while longer." Spoke the man softly.

Elsa shook her head a little, "No, no. I don't want to impose on the good thing you have going here." She gestured with her eyes between Anna and Kristoff, making the man blush ever so slightly.

"I promise you, it's absolutely no issue for you to live here with us honestly. If you don't believe me, then ask Anna you're self and she will tell you the same thing without a doubt. She has really taken a liking to you." Said Kristoff.

Anna tuned into their conversation at this point due to the mention of her name, "What are you two talking about?" asked the redhead politely.

Kristoff swiveled his head over, "Elsa thinks that she has enough money to get a place of her own now. And she thinks that she is imposing on _us_."

Anna leaned forward so that she could look past the large man and over at the older woman "I don't think that you and Emma should be out on your own anymore, and besides Elsa think about it, it really makes sense for us to live together because we work in the same place, we can ride together and pool our resources. You and Emma have been extremely respectful of our space. And last but not least, you're family." Her speech had left everyone at the table quiet for a moment.

"Is that really how the two of your feel?" asked Elsa.

Both Kristoff and Anna nodded In agreement, "Absolutely."

"Elsa, I want you to stay." begged her brother.

"That is incredibly generous of you, thanks." Said Elsa. "But if the two of you start to get serious, then Emma and I should find a place of our own, because I am sure you will need your _space_." She added.

* * *

><p>Anna heard sounds coming from the kitchen, so she got out of bed very carefully so as not to disturb Kristoff, and went to investigate. Once she got where she was going, Anna was stunned to see a different woman standing in the Kitchen. Where she had been expecting a brunette beauty, instead she found a blond queen, making some early breakfast for her daughter.<p>

"Oh my god!?" hissed the younger woman, at the sight of the blond.

Elsa spun around on her heel at the sound of another person approaching behind her. Once her eyes fell on Anna, she felt relived. "Oh, I am so sorry I didn't mean to wake you, but Emma was hungry."

Anna put her hands up in front of her and shook her head in a disarming manner. "You're fine, but you went back to your natural hair color!" she whispered.

Elsa blushed slightly at the redhead's observation, and nodded, "Yeah, I guess it's my little way of moving on from that person I used to be."

"I love it! I wish my hair was beautiful like yours, Elsa." Said Anna as she spoke with admiration. "Hey so, I forgot to tell you, but I had requested today off work so that Kristoff and I could spend some time together. Are you going to be alright on your own at work?"

Elsa smiled and nodded, "Yeah, of course."

"Great! You can take the car."

Elsa smiled and nodded in acknowledgement and Anna returned to bed for another couple of hours of rest.

* * *

><p>She awoke to the blaring of an alarm clock that might as well be lodged in her skull, as she came to she felt the bed begin to move under her. Kristoff quickly reached over and turned the alarm off, hoping to do so before it disturbed the woman next to him.<p>

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and put his feet on the floor and tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. Before he could get up however, he felt the familiar warm sensation of a woman's arms being thrown around his neck from behind, the warmth radiating all throughout his body. The sensation forced his eyes to close once again, as he took it all in.

"Where do you think you are going?" Asked Anna.

Kristoff sighed and bowed his head slightly, "Sadly, I have to go to work." He reached up over his shoulder and pulled her head in closer for a kiss.

"Umm, no. you're not going in to work today. And neither am I." stated the young woman.

At this he half spun around on the bed, so that he was facing her. "I'm not?"

"Nope." Said Anna with a taunting smile.

* * *

><p>Her day, thus far, was going quite well. She had dropped her daughter off at her school and continued on to work, now here she stood behind the counter. It dawned on her, the line of customers before her were all men, and it seemed like there was at least five of them if not more.<p>

'It must be the hair.' She thought, remembering that she had returned it to its natural blond color since yesterday.

After helping a few of the customers, a familiar face stood before her. "Hi, can I get a pack of cigarettes, please?" asked the man.

Elsa smiled and nodded, "Which one would you like?"

He only took the briefest of seconds to respond, but all the while, Elsa could feel his eyes burning holds in her. "Why don't you pick one out for me."

She couldn't help but freeze at such a proposition. "Um, you want _me_ to pick one out for you?" she asked for clarification.

"Yes" he nodded.

"Well, um, I would suggest you not buy any of them then." She said with a smile.

The man raised his eye brows in dismay at her statement. "Really? Why?"

"Because it's bad for you, not to mention they are expensive." she said as if it were obvious.

"Indeed." A large charming smile came onto the man's face and he held out his hand for her to shake. "Hans. And you are?"

Elsa looked down to her name tag and realized her jacket was covering it. Quickly, she took it off and returned Han's handshake. "Elsa."

"So, _Elsa_, may I ask what you are doing for lunch?"

"Um just eating, why?"

Hans put a little of his weight onto the counter top as he leaned forward, "I would like to take you somewhere." Now he backed off and stood straight. "If you would like, of course."

The man's proposition made her blush intensely, turning almost beet red. Elsa was not used to having this kind of attention form a man, let alone an attractive one, in her opinion. "I would love to!" she squeaked, the sound of her voice made her cover her mouth instinctively in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.

Hans blushed a little as well and grinned for ear to ear. "Alright, what time do you normally take lunch?"

Elsa looked around her for a moment, "Why don't you come back at about one'o clock?"

"Alright, I will see you then!"

"I look forward to it." Said Elsa as she gave him a small wave as he walked off.

* * *

><p>Their kissing had become rather intense, and at one point they crashed together with enough force to almost chip a tooth. She was straddling the man now, her hips resting directly above his. They parted and stared into each other's eyes as the sunlight started to pour into the room, the color changing the mood within. It was involuntary, but she could feel it rising beneath her. Anna was reading the look on his face, the expression compared to that of guilt, and perhaps embarrassment or even shame, however she could not hold it against him because, after all <em>she <em>was the one instigating it. Her night shirt hung low, barely covering her chest, the cool air in the bedroom causing it to be aroused. The sight was antagonizing to say the least, be he knew her history.

"Anna..." Spoke the man as he placed his hands on her waist.

She gently bit her bottom lip before releasing and letting it roll back out. "yeah?" she answered. She could see the expression on his face, "What's wrong, Kristoff?" the look of primal desire falling from her face and being replaced with one of genuine concern.

"Is this really what you want?"

Again, she bit her lip and nodded, "Kristoff, you make me feel different, special. So yes, I want this, do you?" retorted Anna.

Kristoff moved his hands from her waist to the hem of her night shirt and lifted it up, her arms following suit and rising over her head so that he could easily lift the shirt off. His breath hitched at the sight of her, how the fresh orange glow of the sun reflected off of her red hair and fair skin. His eyes memorizing every perfect curve of her body.

"I will take that as a yes, then." Said Anna softy, a large smile coming onto her face.

She leaned forward and kissed him deeply, making sure to press her breast against his. Her hands explored every muscle on him, slowly she slid down from his face and traced the lines of his abs with her finger, causing them to contract and him to giggle. Her hands arrived at the band of his boxers, and as she started to shimmy them down, adrenaline flooded their bloodstreams and the euphoria began.

Even with only seventeen years under her belt, she was not inexperienced, he decided.

* * *

><p>Before she knew it, one' o clock had rolled around, and Elsa found herself fidgeting with her uniform and hair, smoothing down any strays that she came across. She wanted to look at presentable as she could, in all honest she was used to the looks she would get from the men, and while she enjoyed that kind of attention, it was nothing compared to how she felt when they actually came up to talk to her.<p>

Elsa waited outside the front of the store for a few minutes and was starting to feel rather disheartened, wondering if he would ever show up.

**I would love to hear what everyone thinks! sorry for any mistakes i didn't catch. Enjoy!**


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